Legal Question in Family Law in Georgia

To be blunt, it appears you lost the initial case because you thought you could handle it yourself and you didn't know what you were doing. Your failure to properly handle a case is not grounds for reconsideration or appeal, and those actions mean whole new sets of laws, rules and requirements are in place. Is the issue with your child not important enough to get a lawyer who knows how to handle a case, and only worth a little time in a DIY case? It may be too late.

First of all, the fact that you chose not to spend money on a lawyer shows that you did not take the case seriously. Winning a change of custody without counsel is close to impossible, and that was a mistake that may be unfixable. As a practical matter, it told the judge that you didn't think your child was important enough to get a lawyer, and as a legal matter it likely means you missed steps that may have mattered.

If you filed your complaint for change of custody in the county of mom's residence (and that is where you should have filed), your defense theory is simply incorrect. You chose the venue (and likely chose the right one) and you cannot now argue against the venue as your filing waived that objection. She is allowed to file a counterclaim against you on the same issue and by O.C.G.A. 19-9-23 does not bar that.

Appeals are NEVER a do-it-yourself situation and neither are custody cases. The time deadlines for an appeal are short.